Forbidden Kiss (Carson Cove Scandals 1)

It’s a good thing it isn’t socially acceptable to have wine for breakfast…

Chapter Fourteen

Bryant

The next day

Dylan stayed all weekend, and I tried to let myself get absorbed with work when he wasn’t around. If I didn’t have something to distract me, the only thing on my mind was Taylor. I wanted to find a way show her that I was sorry our date didn’t work out, and I hated that I was going to have to wait an entire week to do it. I wasn’t upset with Dylan for visiting—I loved spending time with my son—it was just poor timing because I didn’t know he was coming until he showed up at my door.

I tried to call Shaina a couple of times on Sunday, but I wasn’t able to reach her. I did talk to Victoria for a little while, and she said she hadn’t been able to get in touch with her either. By the time I made it to work on Monday morning, I was starting to worry more about my oldest daughter than when I would see Taylor again. It wasn’t unusual for Shaina to get busy with school and miss a few calls, but she normally called me back—at some point. The silence didn’t sit well with me, especially since Dylan and Victoria hadn’t been able to get in touch with her either—that definitely wasn’t normal.

“Cassie, I need you to do something for me.” I walked out of my office after my first morning meeting.

“Yes sir, what do you need?” She looked up at me.

“I need you to place a call to Shaina’s school—if they need to talk to me, it’s fine, but I want to know if she made it to class today.” I looked around the office and sighed. “I haven’t been able to get in touch with her.”

“I’ll take care of it.” She nodded and started searching for the number.

I went back to my office, looked over a few reports, and made some decisions regarding our investments for the week. Cassie had to leave a message, so it turned into a waiting game. The worry intensified as the day wore on, and by the afternoon, I was starting to lose my mind. Cassie could tell that it was really bothering me, so she called back—and refused to let them just take another message. She stayed on hold for nearly ten minutes, but someone with a little bit of authority finally came on the line. It shouldn’t have taken that long considering that I made donations to Shaina’s school, on top of paying her tuition. I was just about to walk over and take over the conversation when my cell phone lit up, and I saw Shaina’s number.

“She’s calling me.” I waved Cassie off and headed to my office. “Hello?”

“Hey Dad!” It was Shaina’s voice—and she sounded rather cheerful.

“Shaina…” I sat down behind my desk. “Why haven’t you returned my calls—Dylan and Victoria said they were having trouble getting in touch with you too…”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve just been really busy with school—I spent the whole weekend in the library researching a case that I have to present…” she exhaled into the receiver.

“Last week too?” I narrowed my eyes.

“It’s just been…” she sighed. “Really busy.”

“Okay.” I decided to drop it—I was talking to her—she sounded fine. “Please make sure you stay in touch. You know we’re going to worry if you don’t…”

“I know.” Her voice trailed off for a second. “I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too…” I closed my eyes and tried to calm down—the worry hadn’t left me completely. “How is everything going—outside of the case you’re working on.”

“Everything is fine…” A muffled sound echoed, and it sounded like she put her hand over the phone. “Hey, I gotta go. I just wanted to make sure you knew I was okay.”

“Sure, no problem. Maybe we can talk later this week?” I leaned back in my chair.

“Definitely! I’ll call you.” There was another muffled sound, and then she hung up.

I quickly sent a message to Dylan and Victoria so they would know that I heard from Shaina. Cassie came into my office and told me that she confirmed Shaina had been attending classes regularly. The crisis was seemingly averted—everything was fine. I just had to keep reminding myself that my kids were grown, and they were living their own lives. There was a good chance that we would grow further apart once they graduated—a weekly call would become a luxury instead of an expectation. My ex-wife and I always joked that we were going to have another baby after the three we already had were in high school—just to avoid empty nest syndrome. There was no chance of that happening anymore, and I wasn’t sure I would be up for it, even if there was a way for it to happen.

That may become a point of contention with Taylor—but our relationship isn’t far enough along to think about it now.

I got back on track with my meetings for the afternoon once I confirmed Shaina was safe. The other people in the office left, including Cassie, but I stayed behind to catch up on some work. It wasn’t like I had anyone waiting at home—and I wasn’t going to be able to see Taylor until the weekend if she couldn’t find time to sneak away from her schoolwork. I hated it—especially after getting interrupted over the weekend, but we would just have to make up for lost time when we were together. Taylor must have sensed that I was thinking about her, because my phone lit up and I saw her number on the screen.

Taylor: Hey…

Bryant: Hello beautiful.

Taylor: I don’t have as many assignments as I expected. Can I come over?